Tucked in the middle of South Africa, the small country of Lesotho has made great strides in recent years by strengthening its democracy and moving toward stability. Yet, it could all be for naught if the country continues to refuse to address the real crisis in the region: HIV.

Something is being lost in our age of physical and metaphorical din. Political leaders, pundits, activists, journalists, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens are engaging in shouting matches in all forms of media, including social media platforms. The most radical act one can take at this moment, says George Prochnik, is to engage in a patient, reflective retreat from all the noise. A more empathetic society may emerge from the quiet.

The Mantle is pleased to present the fourth in a series of important blog posts by Cæmeron Crain addressing critical concepts in contemporary political philosophy. Cæmeron's previous post explored the contours of life in what the philosopher Gilles Deleuze called a "Society of Control." In what follows, Cæmeron begins the difficult process of articulating a practice of resistance to the "diffuse matrix" of late-capitalist power.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect at the first Situational Junta. To find some sort of footing, I mulled over potential meanings for the chosen nomenclature: situational, junta. The title of the three-part artistic venture, for me, was politically charged. My kind of event.